Since 1992, the Aloha Festivals celebrations have included contests of falsetto singing. First held on the big island of Hawai‘i, three additional contests are now convened annually. The four contests are:

The emergence of these falsetto singing contests signals two important developments. First, the contests are an important means to encourage aspiring singer Second, the contests have brought tremendous talent to widespread public attention, and the ever-growing ranks of contest winners include those who go on to establish their presence successfully as recording artists.

In 2000, Hula Records launched a series of falsetto anthology recordings that present a selection of contest winners. The tracks are not live recordings from the contests; rather, winners are invited to a studio recording session as part of the prize package. While the first four CDs drew on a selection of past winners, subsequent CDs have focused on winners from the immediately prior cycle of the contests. The roster of artists on these CDs presents an impressive portrait of a new generation of falsetto singers in a tradition that is truly flourishing. At this writing, four of the singers first featured in this series have released their own recordings; they are Kalei Bridges (winner of the very first contest in 1992), Kamakele “Bulla” Ka‘iliwai (1997), Sam Keli‘iho‘omalu (1998), and Cody Pueo Pata (2000). The 2003 Big Island winner Matthew Sproat is one member of the duo Waipuna, whose first CD was released within this past month.